Revelation 13:8

13:8 and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, ¹  everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world ²  in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed. ³ 

Revelation 17:8

17:8 The beast you saw was, and is not, but is about to come up from the abyss ⁴  and then go to destruction. The ⁵  inhabitants of the earth – all those whose names have not been written in the book of life since the foundation of the world – will be astounded when they see that ⁶  the beast was, and is not, but is to come.

Revelation 20:12

20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then ⁷  books were opened, and another book was opened – the book of life. ⁸  So ⁹  the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. ¹⁰ 

Revelation 20:15

20:15 If ¹¹  anyone’s name ¹²  was not found written in the book of life, that person ¹³  was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:27

21:27 but ¹⁴  nothing ritually unclean ¹⁵  will ever enter into it, nor anyone who does what is detestable ¹⁶  or practices falsehood, ¹⁷  but only those whose names ¹⁸  are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 22:19

22:19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life ¹⁹  and in the holy city that are described in this book.

Philippians 4:3

4:3 Yes, I say also to you, true companion, ²⁰  help them. They have struggled together in the gospel ministry ²¹  along with me and Clement and my other coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.

[13:8]  ¹ tn Grk “it”; the referent (the beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:8]  ² tn The prepositional phrase “since the foundation of the world” is traditionally translated as a modifier of the immediately preceding phrase in the Greek text, “the Lamb who was killed” (so also G. B. Caird, Revelation [HNTC], 168), but it is more likely that the phrase “since the foundation of the world” modifies the verb “written” (as translated above). Confirmation of this can be found in Rev 17:8 where the phrase “written in the book of life since the foundation of the world” occurs with no ambiguity.

[13:8]  ³ tn Or “slaughtered”; traditionally, “slain.”

[17:8]  ⁴ tn On this term BDAG 2 s.v. ἄβυσσος 2 states, “netherworld, abyss, esp. the abode of the dead Ro 10:7 (Ps 106:26) and of demons Lk 8:31; dungeon where the devil is kept Rv 20:3; abode of the θηρίον, the Antichrist 11:7; 17:8; of ᾿Αβαδδών (q.v.), the angel of the underworld 9:11…φρέαρ τῆς ἀ. 9:1f; capable of being sealed 9:1; 20:1, 3.”

[17:8]  ⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:8]  ⁶ tn Some translations take the ὅτι (Joti) here as causal: “because he was, and is not, but is to come” (so NIV, NRSV), but it is much more likely that the subject of the ὅτι clause has been assimilated into the main clause: “when they see the beast, that he was…” = “when they see that the beast was” (so BDAG 732 s.v. ὅτι 1.f, where Rev 17:8 is listed).

[20:12]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.

[20:12]  ⁸ tn Grk “another book was opened, which is of life.”

[20:12]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the books being opened.

[20:12]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “from the things written in the books according to their works.”

[20:15]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[20:15]  ¹² tn The word “name” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[20:15]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the pronoun has been intensified by translating as “that person.”

[21:27]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[21:27]  ¹⁵ tn Here BDAG 552 s.v. κοινός 2 states, “pert. to being of little value because of being common, common, ordinary, profane…b. specifically, of that which is ceremonially impure: Rv 21:27.”

[21:27]  ¹⁶ tn Or “what is abhorrent”; Grk “who practices abominations.”

[21:27]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “practicing abomination or falsehood.” Because of the way βδέλυγμα (bdelugma) has been translated (“does what is detestable”) it was necessary to repeat the idea from the participle ποιῶν (poiwn, “practices”) before the term “falsehood.” On this term, BDAG 1097 s.v. ψεῦδος states, “ποιεῖν ψεῦδος practice (the things that go with) falsehood Rv 21:27; 22:15.” Cf. Rev 3:9.

[21:27]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “those who are written”; the word “names” is implied.

[22:19]  ¹⁹ tc The Textus Receptus, on which the KJV rests, reads “the book” of life (ἀπὸ βίβλου, apo biblou) instead of “the tree” of life. When the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus translated the NT he had access to no Greek mss for the last six verses of Revelation. So he translated the Latin Vulgate back into Greek at this point. As a result he created seventeen textual variants which were not in any Greek mss. The most notorious of these is this reading. It is thus decidedly inauthentic, while “the tree” of life, found in the best and virtually all Greek mss, is clearly authentic. The confusion was most likely due to an intra-Latin switch: The form of the word for “tree” in Latin in this passage is ligno; the word for “book” is libro. The two-letter difference accounts for an accidental alteration in some Latin mss; that “book of life” as well as “tree of life” is a common expression in the Apocalypse probably accounts for why this was not noticed by Erasmus or the KJV translators. (This textual problem is not discussed in NA²⁷.)

[4:3]  ²⁰ tn Or “faithful fellow worker.” This is more likely a descriptive noun, although some scholars interpret the word σύζυγος (suzugos) here as a proper name (“Syzygos”), L&N 42.45.

[4:3]  ²¹ tn Grk “in the gospel,” a metonymy in which the gospel itself is substituted for the ministry of making the gospel known.